Heading into the 2016 NBA draft, the Philadelphia 76ers held the No. 1 pick and the right to select LSU superstar Ben Simmons. The ending was, obviously, a mess, but Simmons had a mostly successful career in Philadelphia. He was named an All-Star three times, won Rookie of the Year, made two All-Defensive First Teams, and the All-NBA Third Team.
However, when looking at the totality of his career, one has to wonder if Simmons would go No. 1 again in a re-draft of 2016. Especially, when considering that current Sixers star Jaylen Brown was selected No. 3 in that draft originally and Brown has had a better career with five All-Star selections, a title, and a finals MVP award.
Bleacher Report performed a re-draft of 2016 and Brown goes No. 1 to the
Sixers with a sample size of 10 years to back it up:
Two 2016 draftees have logged more games during their careers, but Brown leads the class in total points with 13,474. He also earns a bump for positional value as the indisputable best two-way wing available.
The first pick in a draft should be someone around whom a team could build a legitimate contender. Brown might not be that player, but he's the closest thing to it in this class. The Sixers, who just traded for him in real life, wind up with Brown a decade earlier in our re-draft.
Brown averaged 28.7 points per game in the 2025-26 season with the Boston Celtics. He will be looking to carry that type of production to Philadelphia and help the Sixers reach the mountaintop in the East.
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Where does Sixers star Jaylen Brown get picked in a 2016 NBA re-draft?
